Deep Change Leadership: A Model for Renewing and Strengthening Schools and Districts
by Douglas Reeves, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington, Ind., 2021, 150 pp. with index, $31.95 softcover
Deep Change Leadership, written by Douglas Reeves, builds upon extensive research and writings on change and provides guidance to educational leaders who are engaged in leading their schools through a change process. Reeves’ model and text includes four fundamental leadership phases: (1) imagining, (2) focusing, (3) implementing, and (4) accelerating. As each phase is discussed, Reeves lays out invaluable considerations that are essential for success.
The recommendations include both the familiar — the importance of a compelling vision, for example — and the novel — the value of a bleak vision as well as a positive vision. As the text progresses through each of these change phases, it is far too easy to recognize the common mistakes made by many districts and schools: neglecting to communicate the consequences of failure to change, attempting to enact a cumbersome strategic plan with a multitude of priorities, focusing solely on results and looking too far into the future for measurable gains, among others.
Reeves derives his model and recommendations from the extensive research cited and provides references and resources. These are compelling texts and articles to add to one’s list for future reading.
At the end of each chapter are reflection prompts that individual school and district leaders or an entire administrative team can use while reading the text for professional learning. While there are other texts and models for the change process one may have read and applied, the value of reading
Deep Change Leadership and reflecting on its recommendations is prodigious for novel and experienced leaders alike.
Reviewed by Judy Paolucci, superintendent, Smithfield, R.I., Public Schools
The Good Boss: Nine Ways Every Manager Can Support Women at Work
by Kate Eberle Walker, BenBella Books, Dallas, Texas, 2021, 220 pp., $24.95 hardcover
The author of
The Good Boss, Kate Eberle Walker, took on her first CEO role of The Princeton Review at age 39. Prior to becoming a CEO, she navigated the male-dominated world of Wall Street as a Goldman and Sachs investment banker. She is currently serving as the CEO of PresenceLearning, the leading provider of online special education services for K-12 schools.
Each chapter discusses a specific way managers can support female employees. Topics included are “Be Someone She Can Relate To,” “Speak Up So She Won’t Have To” and “Tell Her That You See Her Potential.”
Working in public education, a field dominated by 77 percent female employees, I didn’t think the suggestions would apply to my work environment. However, I quickly found out women must overcome many obstacles for consideration of an administrative position. In fact, women are employed in only 54 percent of administrative jobs in the public school arena. Also, they are very hesitant to apply for positions unless they meet 100 percent of the qualifications listed while men are prone to seek positions when they do not meet all qualifications.
Managers must support and empower women to achieve excellence and reach career goals. They must find ways to support and highlight the strengths and skills of women employees and assist them by opening doors for more opportunities.
This book also advises women on how to navigate the interview and how to ask the right questions when negotiating salary and benefits. It is very straightforward and will help all managers become supportive of all their subordinates, especially women and minorities.
Reviewed by Paul A. Shaw, director of educator ethics, Georgia Professional Standards Commission, Martin, Ga.
An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education
by Jay Mathews, Santa Anta Publishing, 2021, 261 pp. with index, $12.95 softcover
The author, Jay Mathews, is clearly one of the best education reporters in the United States. His writing style entices the reader with facts and human-interest segments to make his stories relevant. While he has a viewpoint, he is willing to explore and debate opposing ideas. These characteristics make this piece an enjoyable read, while conveying a ton of information about how some schools have raised the bar for students and teachers.
This book focuses upon three trends that give Mathews hope: 1)“…the growth of participation by average high school students in college- level courses, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate; 2) the development of what I call supercharters, public charter school systems that evidence strong growth, high achievement and compelling ideas; and 3) the blossoming of imaginative, progressive teaching, a century-old phenomenon affirming that deep learning can be intriguing and fun.” Most of his attention in the book is spent on the first two with the last trend almost coming across as an afterthought.
Some of the programs portrayed are KIPP, Teach for America, Uncommon Schools, BASIS, IDEA, AVID, Success Academy, etc. Some of the highest rated schools in the country were developed due to such projects.
In every case presented, one or more leaders start with the belief that students can do much better. They then convince or persuade teachers to try. A detailed plan is prepared with rigorous standards. As goals are reached, such as every student taking one AP course and passing the exam, they insist that more AP courses are taken and/or inserted earlier in students’ school experience. Staff are instructed in exactly what and how they are to teach. Over time the results presented are quite outstanding!
In nearly every example described, both students and staff put in more time — longer and more frequent days — than is typical. Expectations for parents are also high, such as hosting teachers for home visits, attending Saturday sessions to learn how they can help their children or even making voluntary contributions of $1,500 annually. In most instances, athletics and extracurriculars are low priorities, if available at all. This kind of schooling is hard work and those that cannot keep it up leave. Yet, those who remain feel challenged and think of mastering difficult content as fun.
Diane Ravitch is the individual most called upon by the author to defend and promote the progressive side of educational advancements. She and others are anti-testing, and in favor of collaborative approaches. They also believe that poverty is the main cause of low attainment in American schools and that teachers’ judgement should be paramount. They also can have exceptional schools.
Mathews is adept at engaging those he writes about to tell him about the serendipity and politics of their journeys. Being in the right place at the right time or stumbling across a generous benefactor are success factors built upon dedication and tenacity.
As a superintendent, I implemented many of the educational practices highlighted in this book often before charter schools were more than an idea. Raising standards to levels most would consider unrealistic is possible — even in a regular urban district with little revenue, militant unions and crazy board members. Reaching high standards becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as optimists multiply based upon the results they observe.
Educators who work in low poverty schools or other schools that need a turnaround should read
An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education. They will see what can be done if they are willing to work hard.
Reviewed by Art Stellar, retired superintendent, Hingham, Mass.
Responding to Resisters: Tactics that Work for Principals
by Richard D. Sorenson, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Md., 2021, 141 pp. with index, $35 softcover, $75 hardcover
We all like to think that implementing an educational innovation will go smoothly, with the principal providing research-based rationale, the staff rallying around a high-energy implementation and ultimately, student achievement soaring. The more likely scenario is that no matter how hard a leader tries, there is typically some type of resistance — resistance that can sink an initiative — sometimes before it even gets started. Some resisters have good, student-centered reasons to question a change; others seek to maintain status quo for other reasons, not all student-centered.
Richard Sorenson, professor emeritus, is the former director of the Principal Preparation Program and chairperson of the Educational Leadership and Foundations Department at The University of Texas at El Paso. He is a former social studies teacher, assistant principal, principal and associate superintendent. He has authored seven principal leadership textbooks, as well as teacher resource guides, and student workbooks. This impressive background speaks to his ability to craft a book that would be of such practical use of school administrators.
Sorenson has created a highly readable guide, divided into seven chapters, each focusing on a different “tactic” so that a principal is able to focus on teacher wants and needs throughout a change process. The chapters contain a variety of vignettes; Pause and Consider, Discussion and Application questions. The scenarios are believable and the strategies are spot-on. The author peppers each section with many straightforward lists, including: risk-mitigation strategies, principal-centered steps to ensure teachers grasp the personal benefits of any proposed change (and are thus, less likely to resist), examples of what a principal must NOT do when calculating a new instructional reform (with an honest appraisal of how logical arguments often fail to prevail) and an extremely helpful and concise table of the seven stages of proper change planning and preparation to avert resistance.
This is a great book. It is a short, easy to comprehend, invaluable read that gives an administrator a concise summary of change research and provides strategies for authentic change processes in schools. It would be helpful to both aspiring and veteran administrators. This book can be used by an individual school leader planning and implementing an innovation. The strategies are excellent — copy on a post-it note/tack to the office bulletin board/share at a principal meeting worthy. Responding to Resisters could also be highly engaging for a book study — a group of school principals reading and discussing the real-life scenarios the author provides. It would make for thought-provoking, group learning.
Reviewed by Marilyn King, deputy superintendent of instruction, Bozeman, Mont., School District
Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace
by John C. Maxwell, HarperCollins Leadership, New York, N.Y., 2019, 288 pp., $27.99 hardcover
“Change or Die.” That quote by Thomas Edgley, opens this book by John C. Maxwell. “Good leaders, Maxwell says, adapt. They shift.”
Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace, describes the adaptive skills needed to keep pace with today’s changes. “The more nimble, adaptable, and flexible we are, the more quickly we can move and change.”
The top three leadership qualities for the future, Maxwell says, are all about adaptability: being able to motivate staff, work well across cultures, and facilitate change. Leadershifting is the ability to make leadership changes for ourselves and the organizations we lead. Learning to lead our organization into the unknown.
I met with John Maxwell 30 years ago. A pastor at the time, he told me about his passion for writing — he spent 30 percent of every day writing. Since then, he has sold 20 million books on leadership. His five-part formula: read every day; think and reflect every day; ask questions every day; write every day and file good material every day. That formula, together with Maxwell’s storytelling, makes for an easy read overflowing with tips and ideas. And it’s like reading ten books condensed into one.
Maxwell shares 11 essential changes — leadershifts — for adapting our leadership to the future. Some of Maxwell’s examples of leadershifts include soloist to conductor, people pleaser to people challenger and maintaining to creating.
One shift that resonated for me was the shift from goals to growth. “Goals, Maxwell says, help us do better, while growth helps us become better.” Goals help in the short run. Growth pays dividends long term. “The most important shift, according to Maxwell, “is the Impact Shift from Trained Leaders to Transformational Leaders. Transformational leaders inspire people to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. When you influence people to think, speak, and act in ways that make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others, you can change the world!”
Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace is accessible at any level from boardroom to the classroom. Leaders, from district leaders to teacher leaders, will find useful ideas that can be applied today to help build a better tomorrow.
Reviewed by Larry L. Nyland, retired superintendent, Seattle, Wash.
Evidence, Politics, and Education Policy
by Lorraine M. McDonnell and M. Stephen Weatherford, Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2020, 303 pp. with index, $35 softcover
School administrators seldom have the time to fully investigate policy problems at a granular level. Most often, issues are identified and addressed at a very surface level, often allowing the administrator only an initial and cursory opportunity to explore the most basic impact of challenges presented by the promulgated rules and regulations. Educators wishing to delve deeper into issues seldom can fully explore the realities of the impact legislation creates.
Evidence, Politics, and Educational Policy by Lorraine M. McDonnell and M. Stephen Weatherford provide a unique tool for administrators wishing to dive deeper into the realities of all things educational policy. Focusing on two unique legislative initiatives, early implementation of the Common Core State Standards and an analysis of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the authors weave interesting and reflective narratives related to the ways the federal system impacted local programming. Even though this content might be considered by some to verge on “wonky,” the presentation of content stays away from jargon, while still maintaining a great deal of technical sophistication.
Each situation is provided in case study format, allowing the reader an opportunity to follow the ebb and flow of issues as they are promulgated at the federal level, and presented to the performers at the state level. The subtle interchange of issue and action that often is taken for granted provides a rich depth of detail as the authors discuss the complexity of issues that create the awareness of the problems, the political realities that support potential solution development thorough legislation, and the practical implications of interventions required to address the mandated situations.
After completing this text, readers regardless of policy sophistication will gain a greater understanding of the processes that occur when terminal educational interventions first begin to be identified, then are developed for impact, passed onto states for implementation and finally put in place for impact.
Evidence, Politics, and Education Policy is a fantastic addition to the policy library available for school administrators. The case study approach is unique in the depth of investigation and the breadth of perspectives that the authors present. I am incredibly appreciative of their efforts in creating an instructional material that will have long term impact on students of policy development and implementation.
Reviewed by Mark E. Deschaine, associate professor of educational leadership, University of Mississippi, University, Miss.
Leadership for Learning: How to Bring Out the Best in Every Teacher, 2nd edition
by Carl Glickman and Rebecca West Burns, ASCD, Alexandria, Va., 2020, 144 pp., $28.95 softcover
Leadership for Learning, by authors Carl Glickman and Rebecca West Burns falls short of what a busy, experienced superintendent should spend precious time reading. Carl Glickman is professor emeritus of education at the University of Georgia and co-author Rebecca West Burns is an associate professor of education at the University of South Florida.
Some sections of the book could be inspiring to teachers and principals. The section on Peer Coaching might motivate a principal or teacher to see the benefits of experienced teachers coaching younger teachers.
Some chapters of the book conclude with summaries that are well written, concise and could be worth reading for anyone. It is interesting that some chapters do not have summaries. Several chapters provide detailed case studies and interviews that are dull reading. Though teachers and principals may find the book useful and motivating, superintendent reading these chapters are likely to have experiences and understanding that exceed what is offered by the authors.
Reviewed by Darroll Hargraves, former director, Alaska Association of School Administrators, Wasilla, Alaska
A Culturally Proficient Society Begins in School: Leadership for Equity
by Carmella S. Franco, Maria G. Ott and Darline P. Robles, A Sage Company, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2011, 187 pp. with index, $37.95 softcover
In
A Culturally Proficient Society Begins in School: Leadership for Equity, the three authors, women of color, Carmella S. Franco, Maria G. Ott and Darline P. Robles share their experiences of how they became successful school superintendents, while braving discrimination as educational leaders of color, and as women in charge of male-dominated institutions.
The first half of the book is a trilogy of memoirs. Each chapter concludes with a reflection to engage the reader. While their stories are interesting and informative, the last three chapters of the book are the most useful in helping educational leaders achieve the goal of equitable outcomes for all students attending K-12 schools in America.
The authors identify the barriers and present a conceptual framework for culturally proficient practices to facilitate success for all students in schools. The last chapter takes you through a step-by-step reflection of your journey so you can develop your Leadership for Equity plan. There is also an excellent resource of cultural proficiency books for you to refer to. These remarkable three author’s stories are inspirational and serve as role models for students from all cultures given the present emphasis in the United States schools on equity for all students.
Reviewed by Diane E. Reed, associate professor and chair of the Graduate Educational Leadership Program, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, N.Y.